Sharing a Drink
by SG-LAB
Summary: Two friends share a drink. Post Sunday fic.


Title: Sharing a Drink

Author: sglab

Summary: Two friends share a drink

Type/Pairing: Friendship, Gen.

Main Characters: McKay, Weir

Rating: G

Warnings: None

Spoilers: Slight for Tao of Rodney, Trinity and major for Sunday

Beta: No

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Just having fun with them.

Notes: This is a tag for Sunday. I wanted to write some Weir, McKay friendship fic. It's a little of how I interpret the relationship between them and Carson.

Feedback: Yes please

John had just left Elizabeth's quarters a few minutes earlier after telling her Rodney had returned from Earth. She got the distinct feeling John wanted her to check on Rodney. Not that John didn't care, he just didn't know what to say to his friend.

Rodney had been gone for two weeks to take Carson's remains back to his family. The others who had taken Carson's remains back to Earth had returned a short time later.

Elizabeth was standing in the middle of her room considering what she would say to Rodney. Of all of them, the scientist was taking Carson's death the hardest.

Rodney had many friends on Atlantis, much to the surprise of the scientist, but Carson was probably his closest. Carson seemed to understand Rodney the most of anyone.

Sighing, Elizabeth walked over to her desk and opened a drawer. Reaching in, she pulled out a bottle of scotch. While Rodney had cleaned out Carson's quarters, Elizabeth worked on Carson's office. Opening one of the drawers of his desk she had found this bottle half full. There were three shot glasses next to the bottle.

Now in her desk sat the three shot glasses. She grabbed two and was about to shut the drawer when she reached back in and picked up the third glass. She grabbed a bag and put the items inside before exiting her quarters.

John had kept track of Rodney's location when he returned to the city and told Elizabeth he was on a balcony on the west side. She didn't need anymore information than that. It was a balcony set near the infirmary where Carson would take a breather from the infirmary on occasion.

Carson had shown it to Rodney and Elizabeth after Rodney's little run in with the personal shield. The three friends shared a glass of scotch. That particular bottle had been finished off some time ago. Although they managed to stretch it out through that first year on Atlantis.

Elizabeth stepped out onto the balcony and looked around finding Rodney sitting on the floor. His back was leaning against the wall and his knees were raised to his chest. The sun was just starting to set bringing with it a beautiful mixture of colors.

"Rodney?" Her voice seemed loud to her in the silence.

"Oh," Rodney's head shot up. "Am I needed?"

'Yes,' was the thought that floated in her mind, but she said, "Everything is running smoothly for now. I'm sure there will be a crisis that needs your attention eventually, but I thought I'd come and offer you a drink," she pulled out the bottle of Scotch and kneeled down next to him leaning her back against the same wall as his.

She pulled out the three glasses next and set them down in front of them.

"You have three glasses Elizabeth," Rodney said. His voice was a little shaky.

"I know," she said.

Rodney reached out with a shaking hand and picked up one of the glasses. "Carson liked to drink out of this glass."

"How can you tell?" She asked looking at the glass in his hand.

"There's a little chip on the bottom," he pointed to the chip. It was small and one wouldn't notice unless it was pointed out. "One of his brothers gave him a set of shot glasses when he was entering University. There were six originally. Three of them broke over the years. When he was unpacking the glasses after we arrived in Atlantis he noticed this one had chipped," Rodney sat the glass down on the floor.

"Around this time of our first year here we were practically rationing that bottle," Elizabeth said holding the bottle of scotch in her hands.

"We were still working on the second bottle from our second year at the beginning of our third year here," Rodney said. "You didn't come around as much to have a drink last year."

Elizabeth stayed quiet for several minutes. "I did so many things last year I never thought I'd be doing. I didn't know who I was anymore."

"My royal screw up on Duranda didn't help," he said. "I got another good tongue lashing from Carson for that. And then he told me you and Sheppard would forgive me."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you the way I did. It was rather unprofessional of me," she said. "I was angry at myself for letting things get out of hand and you scared the hell out of me."

"I wish Carson were here," Rodney said. "He'd know what to say."

Elizabeth smiled at Rodney. "Oh I think you did pretty good in that book you wrote about me," she could see his face turn a slight pink. In truth she was a little embarrassed herself. She hadn't read the whole book, but what she had read warmed her and reminded her of that hidden person under that biting sarcasm that was Rodney McKay.

"So are we going to drink some of this?" Rodney asked pointing to the bottle.

"You two didn't drink any of this together when I wasn't coming around?" Elizabeth asked pouring the liquid into first Rodney's and then her glass. She hesitated for a moment before pouring some into the third glass.

"I met him a few times here, but no, we didn't drink those times," Rodney said.

The two friends picked up their glasses. "To Carson," they said at once and clinked their glasses before swallowing down their drinks.

They were both silent for a long while. They had moved closer together and Rodney's head was resting on Elizabeth's shoulder while her head was resting on the top of his.

Elizabeth felt her shoulder become slightly damp. She then felt a tear slip from her eye to land in Rodney's hair. Without looking she found his hand and wrapped it with her own giving it a light squeeze.

The two friends stayed that way for a long time listening to sounds of the ocean and the city.


End file.
